TWEM Vol. 6 Chapter 2 Part 1
Chapter 2 – The Opening of the Tournament!
A week later, it was finally the day of the fighting tournament’s opening ceremony.
We had been taking requests at the guild for the past week, as there was nothing much to do.
We had also been training for the competition, so we were in perfect condition.
Contestants and spectators gathered in the arena for the opening ceremony.
The arena was arranged in the shape of a staircase surrounding a central stage.
It was exactly the style of arena I had imagined.
The contestants were given cards and they gathered on and around the stage.
According to the explanation, the cards were supposed to show the matches they would be competing in.
Soon after, a man who appeared to be the emperor of the Galzio Empire, appeared on the second-floor terrace.
He had short, flaming red hair and a pair of bright red eyes.
He looked young, like in his early thirties.
He looked around at the participants gathered in the arena and opened his mouth in a stern and dignified manner.
“I am Oskar von Galzio, emperor of the Galzio Empire. Thank you for coming to our country’s tournament. The empire is a meritocracy. Power is everything, and powerful people are absolute. Win this tournament and prove your strength! That’s all from me.”
The arena echoed with thunderous applause and cheers.
Amidst all this, I was convinced that the man was the emperor of this country.
The Galzio Empire is a complete meritocracy, and even the title of emperor is fought over by those who have the right of succession by force.
With that in mind, when I observed the emperor, I could sense that he was a ferocious man, even from some distance away.
The emperor, who waved his hand until the cheers subsided, calmly returned to his seat.
Then the person in charge explained the individual competition.
Repeating one-on-one individual battles takes a lot of space and time, so it seems that a group of more than ten people will form a block, and the winner will advance to the main battle.
The number of blocks are 16, and matches are held in four blocks per day.
The victorious 16 players will then compete in the main tournament.
Of the four days of the main tournament, the first two days would consist of four first-round matches, the third day would consist of two second-round matches, and the semifinals and finals would be held on the fourth day.
Since the games would start tomorrow, we returned to the inn and began a strategy meeting.
At the reception desk, it was indicated the groups we were in for the qualifying rounds.
“So which block are the three of you from?”
“I’m A.”
“I’m C!”
“I’m E.”
Finne was in A, Iris was in C, and Kuzel was in E.
It looks like we’re well divided.
Finne and Iris will have a match tomorrow, and Kuzel the day after tomorrow.
“I’m glad we split up. Now we just have to see where we end up in the main tournament.”
“Yes! I trained a lot, I will definitely win!”
“Finne, you’re so fired up. I won’t lose either!”
“I won’t let Iris beat me!”
Beside Finne and Iris, who are both fired up, Kuzel has her arms crossed.
“I’m happy as long as I can fight.”
Well, that’s the Kuzel I know.
～
The next day, the preliminary round for block-A started before noon.
As we sat in the spectator stands waiting, an announcement was made.
“It’s finally the long-awaited fighting tournament! Is everyone ready!?”
A shout of “Woooo!” rises from the audience.
‘‘I am Nina from the Imperial Capital Adventurer’s Guild, and I will be the emcee for this tournament! I look forward to working with you!’’
“““Nina-chan!”””
Apparently, the emcee, a girl named Nina, was quite popular.
People who seemed to be her fans were shouting all the time.
‘‘Now then, let’s introduce the notable contestants of the preliminary round block-A!’’
With that said, the names of the notable participants of this tournament were announced, but unfortunately, Finne was not mentioned.
However, the lack of attention meant the probability of being targeted from the start was quite low.
Soon after, the competitors began to enter the stage.
“Haruto! I found Finne!”
“I see, she’s wearing a hood.”
I wondered if Finne didn’t want to stand out.
As I was thinking about that, the bell rang to start.
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The moment the bell rang – no, even before the bell rang, Finne was already on the lookout for others.
They were all taller and stronger than herself. If they attacked her, she would probably be helpless.
As she prepared herself with this thought in mind, several players approached her, surrounding her.
“What are you doing wearing a hood?”
“…”
“Well, that’s fine, I have to get the small fish out quickly!”
A large man ran toward Finne and swung his weapon at her, but――
“――She disappeared!?”
The moment he thought his attack had hit Fine, her body vanished into mist.
This was due to Finne’s unique skill, Fleeting Illusion, which was the ability to create elaborate illusions within a certain range.
The men looked around, but they did not see Finne.
“Agh!?”
“Ugh!”
But one after another, the men who attacked Finne began to fall.
Nina, the presenter, immediately noticed this unusual situation.
‘‘Oops! The competitors surrounding the hooded figure collapsed one after another! What in the world is going on!’’
That voice drew the attention of the entire venue to Finne.
The other contestants who were fighting at a distance also looked at Finne.
However, Finne was not concerned about such stares, as she continued to defeat her opponents one after another.
(Concentrate… deeper and deeper――)
Finne squinted her eyes and exhaled deeply.
“Get the hell out of here!”
The man wielded a greatsword that appeared to have cut Finne to pieces.
However, right after that, Finne disappeared, and the man wielding the greatsword fell unconscious on the spot.
‘‘W-What’s going on! Just when I thought the hooded figure was cut to pieces, she disappeared! This could be a heated turn of events!’’
While Nina passionately commented on the situation, the dozens of participants could now be counted on one hand.
Then, a man stood in front of Finne and blocked her.
“I’m Caesar, an A-rank adventurer. You’re strong, and I’d like to request a duel.”
Finne stared at the man.
(A-rank adventurer, can I beat him now?…)
Finne shook her head in agreement and dismissed her fears.
Here, for the first time, Finne opened her mouth.
“…I understand.”
“A woman? …if you don’t mind, could you tell me your name?”
“My name is Finne. I’m an adventurer like you.”
“Finne. I’ll remember you.”
As soon as Caesar finished speaking, the two faced each other with their swords drawn.
“I’m coming!”
Caesar instantly closed the distance with Finne and raised his sword.
Finne, however, did not move an inch.
(――She didn’t move!? No, she can’t follow my movements?)
Caesar swung his sword down, but there was no feeling of contact.
He immediately judged what happened.
“――Behind!”
Relying only on his sixth sense, he turned around and swung his sword in various directions.
“It’s just an illusion.”
“What!?”
Caesar’s body stiffens as he suddenly hears Finne’s voice from the side of his body.
“It’s over!”
“Not yet!”
A sharp blow from Finne.
However, Caesar evaded it by forcibly twisting his body.
Fine was surprised that he could avoid her surprise attack, but calmly moved to add a follow-up attack.
But of course, Caesar was also moving to avoid being hit by it.
“I’m not the one to be defeated by such an attack!”
“Damn it!”
Finne, who was defending herself by repelling the attack, told Caesar.
“It’s pointless to keep on defending yourself!”
Finne didn’t answer.
After dozens of exchanges of blows, Finne’s stance finally crumbles.
There was no way Caesar would have missed that chance.
“This is the end!”
The moment Caesar’s final blow hit Finne, Finne’s figure faded away.
“Wha!? When did this happen? Was this also an illusion!?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Hearing Finne’s words, Caesar’s consciousness turned dark
‘‘Oops! The A-rank adventurer Caesar lost! Is this the dark horse of this tournament! Who the hell is she? This makes me look forward to the main tournament!’’
By that time, few other participants were standing, and Finne easily fought off the others who remained with wounds all over their bodies.
Finne thus won the block-A preliminary round with flying colors.
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